Samuel CRUTCHFIELD Sr. (1796 -1876) was Alex’s 4th Great Grandfather; one of 32 in this generation of the Blair line.

Samuel Crutchfield was born on 20 Nov 1796 in Nottinghamshire, England. He immigrated to Canada in 1823. On 11 Dec 1826 he received concession to lot 18. The concession was along the southeast side of the Châteauguay River from Bryson to the Village of Ormstown.

He was a farmer residing in the seigneury of Annfield. He married Mary WOOLEY. He lived in Jamestown Quebec, near Durham in the segniory of Beauharnois, it is actually the old name of Ormstown. Samuel died 11 Nov 1876 in Jamestown, near Durham Village, after a brief illness, Aged 80 years

Mary Wooley (Wooly) was born on 14 Feb 1796 in Nottinghamshire England. She emigrated to Canada in 1823 and shortly afterwards with her husband settled on the farm on which she resided until her death. Mary died at Jamestown on 4 Feb 1880 at the age of 84 years.

Michel Chartier* de Lotbinière the original owner the Seigniory [feudal estate] of Villechauve where Samuel Crutchfield would eventually receive his concession retained his unproductive purchase, commonly known as Beauharnois, until the 30th July, 1795, when he sold it to Alexander Ellice, a member of a great commercial house in London, for 36,000 Spanish dollars [£9,000]. The seigneury measured 324 square miles.

The deed states that Mr Ellice was present at its execution, and that, as he could not speak French nor the notary English, Mr Richardson acted as interpreter. One clause bound Mr Ellice to grant deeds to those who had squatted on the seigniory, and whose number is given as about 60. The price seems excessive, and may be accounted for by supposing that the seigniory was either taken in payment of a bad debt, or that there was at the time a speculative demand for wild lands. In support of the latter supposition, it. may be stated that Mr Ellice seems to have had a craze

*What the cause was for the second deed, which is simply a re-grant, I have been unable to ascertain. There may have been some dispute between the heirs of the original grantees. for land, and through his agent in Montreal, Mr Richardson of the firm of Richardson, Forsythe & Co., hardware merchants, was a large buyer of the land scrip offered by militiamen and others. Francis Winter, an American, was engaged to act as local agent, and William Waller to make a general survey of the seigniory and lay out in lots a portion of the lands bordering the St Lawrence and the Chateaugay, and this task he seems to have fulfilled in the summer of 1800.

In laying out the seigniory he divided it into sections, giving them the names they still bear—Catherinestown, Helenstown, Marystown, Annstown, North and South Georgetown, Ormstown, Jamestown, Williamstown, Edwardstown, and Russeltown, being the Christian names of Mr Ellice’s children. The seigniory itself was named Annfield, after Mrs Ellice, and the chef lieu Annstown (now the town of Beauharnois), which had been selected on account of its being the only bay between Chateaugay Basin and the foot of the rapids, and the only place having water-power, which, even at that date, was utilized, for there was a small sawmill at the mouth of the St Louis, which apparently as early as 1780 began changing the noble pine-trees that overhung its waters into boards, which were sold to the habitants on the north shore and rafted to the city. Beyond surveying it, Mr Ellice did nothing towards settling his great estate. From several old deeds, it appears he intended each of his children should inherit the portions to which he gave their names.

Alexander Ellice died in 1805 leaving an estate worth in excess of £450,000. It included nearly 350,000 acres of land in New York and the Canadas, as well as property in Prince Edward Island, Britain, and elsewhere, shares in the London and Montreal companies, ships, stock holdings, and mortgages. The estate was divided fairly equally among his widow and ten surviving children, some of whom had been born in Canada since Ann had often accompanied her husband on business trips. The diverse and generally successful careers pursued by the brood, including the army, the navy, the church, business, and landowning, were typical routes to prosperity followed by the sons of the rising upper middle class; none of Ellice’s inheritors, however, benefited more from his father’s work, or managed his heritage with greater astuteness, than Edward, who became the true successor to the Ellice empire..

11 Dec 1826 – Samuel Crutchfield received lot #185 in the First Châteauguay River Concession The concession was along the southeast side of the Châteauguay River from Brysonville Sideroad to the Village of Ormstown. At the time of the grant, Samuel residing in the seigneury of Annfield (That area of the Seigniory of Beauharnois bounded by the St-Louis River on the north, the Seigniory of Châteauguay on the east, the Châteauguay River on the south and North Georgetown on the west. (Center approx 45.27N/73.86W about 30 kilometers northwest of Ormstown Village) Named after Alexander Ellice’s daughter Ann. Sometimes written as two words.

Here is a Google Map of the 6.5 kilometers along the Châteauguay River from Bryson to Ormstown Village. The fields in the satellite view look long and skinny so maybe all the lots had a small river front.

22 May 1829 – Witnesses to William Crutchfield’s birth, The (x) probably means that his parents were illiterate and signed with a mark. Crutchfield, Samuel(x); Woolly, Mary(x); Armour, Robert; Tait,

1838 – Samuel was a private in the second company, (Jamestown Chateauguay River Concession under Captain Andrew Strachan and Lt Col Lawrence G Brown) militia volunteers in the Beauharnois Battalion of Militia for the County of Beauharnois during the rebellion of 1838. Privates got 1 shilling per day.

The Lower Canada Rebellion, commonly referred to as the Patriots’ War, is the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the British colonial power of that province. Together with the simultaneous Upper Canada Rebellion in the neighbouring colony of Upper Canada (now Ontario), it formed the Rebellions of 1837

In Upper Canada, insurrections resulted from, among other things, dissatisfaction with the Family Compact. In Lower Canada, a battle was being waged between the Assembly controlled by the Patriot Party, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, and the British minority that controlled the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. In the autumn of 1837, trouble broke out in the two colonies. The insurrection of Upper Canada, led by William Lyon MacKenzie, was quickly overturned. In Lower Canada, the rebellions were more widespread in 1837, but the patriots there were equally defeated by John Colborne‘s troops. In response, Great Britain sent Lord Durham with the mandate of finding a solution. He offered to grant responsible government and unite the two colonies to assimilate the French Canadians.

By 1838, the rebellions had intensified. In the two colonies, rebels launched numerous cross-border raids from the United States. In both cases, the insurrections were quelled by British troops and volunteers who had remained loyal to British authorities. In Upper Canada Rebels launched several cross-border raids from the United States. Greatly influenced by the Americans, Mackenzie proclaimed the republic of Upper Canada on December 13, 1837.

Robert Nelson did the same for Lower Canada on February 28, 1838. The failure of these insurrections discredited the violence-advocating radicals in the eyes of the general public, who shifted their support to the moderates. The union of Upper and Lower Canada would eventually be proclaimed in 1840, but citizens would have to wait until 1848 for the British Government to grant them responsible government.

11 Nov 1876 – Samuel Crutchfield, died at Jamestown, near Durham Village, after a brief illness, Aged 80 years. Deceased immigrated to this country 53 years ago from England.

4 Feb 1880 – Mary Wooly, Relict of the late Samuel Crutchfield, died at Jamestown, Aged 84 years. Deceased was a native of Nottinghamshire, England.

Children

1. Mary Crutchfield

Mary’s husband Francis Martin was born about 1802 in Ireland. He was 20 years older than Mary, though the 1850 census says he was even older. Francis died 20 Feb 1895 Jamestown, County of Chateauguay Aged: 93 years, cause of death: senility. Francis was a farmer.

ii. James Martin b. 10 Feb 1845 Beauharnois Episcopal congregation of Ormstown and Chateauguay; d. 13 Jan 1875 In the 30th year of his age. Native of Canada. Buried In the Presbyterian churchyard, South Georgetown

James Templeton of Scotch concession, parish of St. Martine, married Mary W. Crutchfield, eldest daughter of John Crutchfield, of Howick Quebec. At the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. J. A. F. McBain.

She leaves to mourn, her husband, and two daughters, Mrs. Albert McFarlane, and Mrs. John J. Peddie, both of Howick Québec, also three sisters, Mrs. James McClenaghan of Chicago IL, Mrs. G. McKeracher of Calgary AB, and Mrs. James Templeton of Howick Québec, 5 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. One daughter, Mrs. Edwin Knox predeceased her two years ago. Funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Gray and was held in the United Church, in Howick Québec. Interred in the Georgetown Cemetery. ) 17 Aug 1884 William Brown, Farmer, son of Alexander Craig Brown, of South Georgtown, married Susan Crutchfield , daughter of John Crutchfield, of the village of Howick Quebec. At the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. J.A. F. McBain.

v. Sarah Jane Crutchfield b. 31 Aug 1863 Howick Village, County of Chateauguay ; m. 25 Dec 1889 Presbyterian Congregation of North and South Georgetown and Circuit in connection with the Presbyterian church in Canada to James McClenaghan (b. 23 Jul 1874 Parish of Ste. Martine, County of Chateauguay, Province of Quebec )

vi. William Crutchfield b. 10 Jul 1866 South Georgetown, County of Chateauguay

Donald Grant Mackeracher married Margaret Agnes Crutchfield, youngest daughter of John Crutchfield, Esq., all of Howick PQ. At the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. G. Whillans, assisted by Rev. CM Mackeracher.
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4. William Crutchfield

William’s wife Anne Ironside was born in March 1839 in Canada. Her parents were Robert Ironside (1801 – ) and Margaret [__?__] (1808 – ). Ann was still living in the 1910 census in Wakarusa, Douglas, Kansas.

William settled in Lawrence, Kansas 8 Mar 1856. Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854 for the New England Emigrant Aid Company by Charles Robinson. The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a transportation company created to transport immigrants to the Kansas Territory to shift the balance of power so that Kansas would enter the United States as a free state rather than a slave state. Created by Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of Kansas Territory to choose whether slavery would be legal, the Company is noted less for its direct impact than for the psychological impact it had on proslavery and antislavery elements. The exact number of people who left for Kansas is unknown. James Rawley puts the numbers somewhere around 2000, of whom about a third returned home, while The Kansas Historical Society puts the number around 900 who left for Kansas in 1855 alone.

Leigh Richmond Webber, son of Oliver WEBBER, removed from Maine to Lawrence in Apr 1858 and engaged for three years in teaching and farming.

In the Bleeding Kansas era, Lawrence was a center of anti-slavery sentiment. On May 21, 1856, a pro-slavery posse led by Sheriff Samuel J. Jones burned the Free-State Hotel, destroyed the equipment of two anti-slavery newspapers, and looted several other businesses in an attack known as the sack of Lawrence; one man was killed, struck dead by a stone falling from the burning hotel. Abolitionist John Brown‘s nearby Pottawatomie Massacre is believed to have been a reaction to this event. On August 21, 1863, during the American Civil War, Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill burned most of the houses and commercial buildings in Lawrence and killed 150 to 200 of the men they found in the Lawrence Massacre.

03-21-1917 William Crutchfield, died at his home in Lawrence Kansas, aged 88 years. Born at Ormstown PQ, and a veteran of the American Civil War. (born 1829) Home in 1880: Wakarusa, Douglas, Kansas. Willliam was a farmer. He and Anne didn’t have any children. Wakarusa Township covers an area of 47 square miles surrounding the county seat of Lawrence.
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5. Annie Crutchfield

Annie’s husband James Biggar was born in 1826. His parents were William Biggar and Elizabeth Adams. James may have died 22 Nov 1872, though it may have been a different James Biggar who married Mary Brown on 16 Mar 1854 – Huntingdon, Quebec who died on that date.

Ellen J. McHardy, relic of the late William Fennell, died at Huntingdon PQ,19 Aug 1902 age 44 years, funeral today, Thursday, at 1 p.m., to Rennie’s graveyard.

28 Jul 1902 – William Fennell, late of the Gore, Hinchinbrook PQ, died at Huntingdon PQ, age 45 years

iii. Robert John Fennell b. 17 Aug 1859 Hinchinbrooke Wesleyan Methodist Congregation In the Circuit of Beauharnois; d. 3 Mar 1937 died of pneumonia, formerly of the Gore, Hinchinbrooke Québec, died at Rosebank Manitoba, age 78 years

07-12-1896 The wife of Robert Fennell, at Ormstown PQ, twin sons, one died same day.

20 Mar 1951 – Levina Kelly, beloved wife of S. E. Fennell, died at the Carmen Memorial Hospital in Rowland MB, in her 85th year. .She married Mr. S. E. Fennell, of Rowland and went to Manitoba in 1910 that same year. She is survived by one stepdaughter, Mrs. Nelson Langtry, of Homewood, three stepsons, Ernest L., William F., of Winnebago, and L. Raymond of Fort Garry, also 9 grandchildren. A twin brother, Levi Kelly, predeceased her earlier this month in Huntingdon. Funeral services from the United Church, service conducted by the Rev. George Hambly.Interment at Rowland MB

William Lavery of Chateaugay New York, married Lillie Fennell, of Hinchinbrook Quebec. At the residence of the brides mother, by Rev. George Cooper Poyser. Witnesses: William Lavery, Lillie Fennell, Thomas Dickinson, John Crutchfield

01-19-1903 Lillie M. Fennell, wife of William Lavery, died suddenly near Chateaugay New York, of acute Cellulitis, aged 33 years. Also on January 31, William Lavery, died of pneumonia,aged 39 years.

Robert Goodfellow of the township of Chateauguay, County Chateauguay, at the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. A Rowat. The Family of Robert Goodfellow (1859-1933 & Catherine Baillie Sandilands (1867-1934) Robert seated on left, Catherine on the right. The children are: David Andrew Wesley Goodfellow (1886-1964), Robert Gordon Goodfellow (1891-1971), George Edward Goodfellow (1893 – ?), William Sandilands Goodfellow (1896-1974), Annie Goodfellow (1905-1994), Alexander Bruce Goodfellow (1903-1985) One child is missing from this picture.

iii. Euphemia Sandeland b, 20 Jan 1869 Hinchinbrook –
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8. Margaret Crutchfield

Margaret’s first husband William Freeland was born xx. His parents were James Freeland and xx. James died 27 Feb 1868 near Durham Village, Quebec,

02-27-1868 William Freeland, son of James Freeland of Godmanchester, died near Durham Village, on Thursday morning, caused by the fall of a tree while working in the woods.

Margaret’s second husband James Reeves was born in Jun 1844. His parents were Benjamin Reeves and Janet Miller. After Margaret died, he married in 1920 to Mary H. Cowan. James died 25 Jul 1934 in Ormstown, Quebec.

08-21-1936 Isabella E. Reeves,( nee Mary E Cowan) wife of Stanley E. Frier, died at Carthage New York, age 46 years. In 1920 she married James Reeves, who passed away in 1934. She leaves one brother, David Cowan and family.

07-25-1934 James Reeves, beloved husband of Mary H. Cowan, died at Ormstown PQ, aged 90 years 01 month. He was the son of Benjamin Reeves and his wife, Janet Miller. He was a member of the Fenian Raid. His first wife, Mrs. Margaret Crutchfield Freeland predeceased him, leaving three children, Mrs. James Meikle, (Mennie) deceased, of Saskatchewan, Lottie, Mrs. Duncan Meikle of Saskatchewan, and William of Hamilton Ont.. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary H. Cowan, the funeral took place from his residence, and service was conducted by Rev. Mr. Ross. Interred in the family plot in the Union Cemetery.

Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood, who were based in the United States, on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were torn between loyalty to their new home and sympathy for the aims of the Fenians. The Protestant Irish were generally loyal to Britain and fought with the Orange Order against the Fenians. While the U.S. authorities arrested the men and confiscated their arms afterwards, there is speculation that many in the U.S. government had turned a blind eye to the preparations for the invasion, angered at actions that could be construed as British assistance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

7 Responses to Samuel Crutchfield Sr.

this compiling is so well done , found only a little mistake : the village of durham where your ancestor samuel crutchfield was living in the turning of 1830 is not in the eastern townships but it is in the segniory of beauharnois, it is actually the old name of ormstown. you will find some of his children baptized at st. paul’s church of durham ormstown
guillaume lavallée,
cowan road havelock québec about 15 miles of ormstown